Spring Rains
by Micah Rodney
Summary: A continuation of the story Winter Camp, while remaining a self-contained adventure thriller. Sania and Dave enlist the help of the bros to deal with a monster that is flooding the Vesperpool. However the group finds themselves in dire straits and has to survive in the drowned wilderness while fending off monsters and even other hunters.
1. Chapter 1

**Spring Rains - Part 01**

By: Jason Tandro

 _Author's Note: This is a thematic continuation of the story begun in_ **Winter Camp** _. Some plot elements will be carried over, but it remains essentially a stand-alone story. Still, if you want to get the full picture, I recommend reading Winter Camp first._

Gladiolus moved a massive log into position near Wiz's shack, grunting with suppressed annoyance as he did so. He couldn't help but notice Prompto and Noctis sitting to the side playing on their phones. Ignis was, at least, cooking their dinner.

"We'd be done this repair sooner if you all would help," Gladiolus grunted.

"Hey we put up a cabin in the course of two weeks," Prompto said. "I think we have earned a break."

"Your break has lasted all day," Gladiolus barked. "We only have the tool shed left."

"All the more reason for you to do it yourself. We'd just get in the way," Noctis teased.

Gladiolus lifted his greatsword and rent the log in two with a single strike. He then began to chop these into rough wooden planks with a newfound fury.

"Did we make him mad, you think?" Noctis asked.

"You could help him," Ignis said, before taking a taste of his experimental soup. Ignis coughed slightly and made a note to add a bit less pepper next time.

"We still need to know where we're going next. I mean if I'm supposed to be looking for these old tombs, we'll have to hit the road again soon," Noctis explained.

"Not before we have finished our obligation to Wiz. We owe him for the chocobos he loaned us," Ignis explained. "To say nothing of what happened to his post because of us."

Gladiolus let out a cry somewhere between a howl and a bellow as he began to hammer boards into place. Apparently in his anger his first strike had missed the nail and hit his thumb instead.

"So, uh, where is Wiz anyway?" Prompto asked.

"He went into Lestallum to pick up some friends of his. Apparently they are planning an excursion to the Vesperpool area. Which, incidentally Noct, is where I would suggest we travel next," Ignis explained.

"What kind of excursion?" Noctis asked.

"I can't say I know the details. Perhaps we should ask his friends when they arrive," Ignis said.

There was another bellow and then the sound of a greatsword carving through a poor defenseless oak which came crashing to the ground a few hundred meters away.

"I'm gonna go help him," Prompto said.

"Yeah, I think we've had enough of a break for now," Noctis added.

* * *

Before long the last touch up on Wiz's Chocobo Post was completed, and the group sat down to one of Ignis's famous meals. Tonight was a hearty stew made of behemoth meat served with fried rice. As they were halfway through their meal, Wiz's light blue truck pulled up to the cabin. Sitting in the bed was a familiar woman. Mocha skin and ebony hair matted down by a bright red sun hat, chocolate chip eyes trapped behind thick round frames.

"Sania Yeagre," Gladiolus said smiling. "Didn't know we'd be treated to such fine company as this."

"You're too kind as always," Sania laughed.

"And what am I, just the bus boy?" Came a gruff voice from the passenger seat. The tall man stepped out to greet the boys, rubbing his somewhat sunburned scalp.

"Hey, you're that hunter dude," Prompto announced, attempting to seem slightly less rude than the others and failing miserably.

"Name's Dave," Dave sighed.

Wiz stepped out of the driver's seat and looked at the cabin. He let out a simple approving nod.

"You like it?" Noctis asked.

Wiz nodded again. "She'll do I reckon."

"You reckon?" Noctis folded his arms.

"Well what d'ya want boy, a medal?" Wiz cackled. "I done you one better. I brought you all these two."

"Yeah about that, Wiz, you probably shouldn't be bringing girls out to your cabin in the woods," Prompto teased.

"Especially not in the trunk of your car," Noctis added.

"Oh you boys," Sania smiled. "I insisted upon the bed. You never know what fascinating sights you might miss sitting all cooped up in a car."

"See anything exciting?" Gladiolus asked.

"Not until I got here," Sania patted Gladiolus's arm.

Gladiolus turned bright red, but Sania pushed him to the side and bent down to examine a small strange insect that was perching on a log near the freshly constructed toolshed.

"Yep, it's her alright," Prompto sighed.

"You know these mantis can grow to be almost 10 centimeters long? They're pretty rare in Duscae. Prompto, come here and get a picture of this," Sania ordered.

Prompto, never one to pass up an opportunity to pull out the camera, marched obediently over and took the shot.

"So, what was this excursion you were planning?" Ignis asked. "If it involves a professor and a hunter working together I can only assume it is dangerous."

"Vesperpool is a dangerous area. You gotta watch out for those damned Cockatrice for one thing," Dave said. "But Sania is the brains behind this operation. She just asked me to work security for her. I, uh, kind of owe her one."

"That's pretty vague," Noctis said.

"And it's gonna remain vague," Dave said firmly.

Noctis raised his hands defensively.

Sania stood back up and turned to address the group. "Well, I guess I won't keep you in suspense any longer then."

She went back to the bed of Wiz's truck and grabbed one of her bags, out of which she pulled a folder with a scattered assortment of notes. She set it on one of the tables and the men gathered around her.

"The Vesperpool area is about to go through it's wet season. A cycle that comes around every four to five years where rainfall is far higher than usual due to- " she took a look around her, "Well, let's just say because of reasons. Anyway, this year is expected to be the worst one in history because of a few exacerbating factors. The Rock of Ravatogh has been burning hotter this year, which is making the surrounding air hotter, and that mixed with the cold air coming south is brewing a nasty storm by itself. But there is another reason and that's what we are going to investigate."

"And what would that be?" Ignis asked.

"Well, something has been calling the rain. A monster of some sort capable of manipulating weather patterns, and whatever it is, it's incredibly strong," Sania explained. "It's been raining non-stop for three weeks now, in what is generally the 'dry' season. And we know that the natural weather patterns of the region shouldn't allow for that."

"But what makes you think it's a monster?" Gladiolus asked.

"That's where I come in," Dave explained. "Some of my fellow hunters noticed something out in the Myrlwood. Something big was doing some sort of strange ritual around the ancient tomb up there."

Ignis nodded knowingly to Noctis. He nodded back.

"So you wanted to enlist our aid in dealing with the threat?" Ignis asked.

Sania nodded. "We're worried what could happen if this thing isn't stopped. The Vesperpool isn't a terribly deep area and it's already been flooded. Combine that with a worse rain storm and it could cause irreparable damage to the area, to say nothing of the nearby hunter headquarters."

"Is the waterline already that high?" Gladiolus asked.

"From the past three weeks, the water has risen over 225 centimeters. The lowlands are gone, and the ruins of Steyliff Grove are no longer visible. If it rises much higher it will hit the highway," Sania explained.

Noctis turned to the others. "What do you think guys?"

"We don't really have a choice in this matter. We need to get to the Tomb of the King if nothing else, and we can't do that without passing through Myrlwood," Gladiolus said.

"Yeah, saving the Vesperpool will just be a sort of bonus," Prompto explained. "Like a side quest or something."

"I think it is safe to say you have persuaded us, Professor Yeagre," Ignis announced.

"Well great. Then pack some wet-weather gear and hit the hay. We leave first thing in the morning," Sania said.


	2. Chapter 2

**Spring Rains - Part 02**

The six of them wouldn't fit in the Regalia, even with Sania's suggestion that maybe it was Dave's turn to travel in the trunk. So Wiz drove Dave and Sania back to Lestallum, along with a convoy of six of his finest chocobos. They would be leaving the cars at Lestallum and then taking the birds up the mountain the rest of the way. The slow convoy (keeping pace with Wiz's rickety old truck) gave the others ample time to tease Gladiolus some more.

"So, you have a soft spot for Sania huh?" Prompto asked.

"Didn't realize you were in to older women," Noctis added casually from the front seat.

Gladiolus shrugged. "She's not _that_ much older. Mid thirties, I think. Besides she's brilliant."

"I figured you'd be more into the muscle-bound femme fatale type," Prompto suggested.

"It's possible, but looks and strength fade, but a keen mind lasts you a while," Gladiolus said. "I'd like to point out that during these road trips of ours, I'm the one with a book in hand."

Noctis and Prompto exchanged a glance, before going on the defensive.

"Well, we read stuff on our phones," Prompto said.

"What's the last story you read?" Gladiolus challenged.

Noctis, without missing a beat, replied "The instructions for _King's Knight_. _"_

Ignis decided to enter into the fray. "So what do you propose, Gladiolus? Do you intend to sweep Professor Yeagre off her feet? The strong, silent guardian helping the damsel in distresss?"

"Oh so _that's_ your type," Noctis shucked under his breath.

Gladiolus smacked the back of his head before continuing. "Jeez, what's with you guys? We said two sentences to each other."

"It was magical. I'm already hearing wedding bells," Prompto sighed dramatically.

"You'll be seeing stars in a minute if you don't cut it out," Gladiolus warned.

*-Spring Rains=*

They parked at the public overlook lot. It jutted out over the chasm, giving a stunning view of Duscae and the Disc of Cauthess. The wild wetlands, the vast forests, and the stone archways that criss-crossed the valley. The smells of the Lestallum marketplace, fresh produce and spices along with the unique culinary flavor of the city made Noctis's stomach growl in protest.

"Perhaps we grab some breakfast before heading up the mountain," Ignis suggested.

"I could do with a bite. Your mind performs better on a full stomach," Sania said.

"I'll wait here with the birds. You go grab anything you might need, then get back here on the double," Wiz said. "And you damn sight better bring me back some teriyaki."

The group traveled as one down the streets to the massive open-air market in the center of town. This was Ignis's idea of heaven. Every time he came there were more and more ingredients to create his tantalizing recipes.

"Hey, you better get a full compliment of groceries. I doubt we'll be able to do much hunting when we get to Vesperpool," Gladiolus instructed.

"Already on it," Ignis nodded. "The trick is finding easy to carry and long-lasting produce and meats."

Prompto and Noctis had each grabbed some Roti and Curry bowls and were sitting at a table on the side of the street to eat. Dave chided them.

"Shouldn't you be getting some supplies too?" Dave asked.

"I can fish for food," Noctis explained. "I don't think we'll have problem finding fish there."

"And I'm basically just the looks of the group," Prompto added.

"Yeah, looks through a camera lens all day," Noctis replied.

Eventually the others returned from their shopping trip and sat down with the boys to eat their own meals. Gladiolus got a massive pulled pork burger, Ignis chose to try a spicy chicken salad concoction of his own design, and Dave and Sania each treated themselves to the honey bread and egg sandwiches.

"This is more 'breakfast food'. Do you all seriously just eat whatever you want, whenever you want?" Sania teased.

"Sometimes we eat Cup Noodle," Prompto replied. "But otherwise, yeah."

Gladiolus stopped eating and tilted his head slightly to the left. The others stopped talking and looked at him.

"What's up?" Dave asked.

"Those three over there by the wall have been following us since we got here," Gladiolus said quietly.

Dave took a surreptitious and indirect glance at them using the reflection of a nearby window.

"They look like Hunters," Dave said. "But they're not my guys."

"Do we engage them directly?" Ignis asked.

"Dave and I will have a word with them," Gladiolus said, standing up. Dave followed suit.

"I'm coming too," Noctis said, standing up as well. "May as well make it even."

Gladiolus nodded and the three approached their followers. They were dressed in the usual grey attire of Hunters. The leader was a giant man with a bald head wearing a grey sleeveless shirt and black hunting vest over it. To his left was a woman wearing a thick grey jacket and wearing a mechanical eye-piece to match her rifle slung over her back. On his right was a smaller man in grey camouflage, wearing a hood.

"Can we help you?" Gladiolus asked, standing at his own impressive height with nearly matched the man he spoke to.

"You're heading to the Vesperpool, right?" The man asked in a bored sort of way. Clearly he was not impressed by their show of force.

"What's it matter to you?" Dave asked.

"We got wind of you through our network," the woman replied. "We're after the same target it would seem."

"Now how the hell do you know what we're after?" Noctis asked, figuring it was his turn to speak.

The smaller man followed up. "It's enough that we know. Just because our mark is the same does not mean our goal is the same. We, for one, don't like to share credit."

"Fine, then work alone. We don't care as long as the monster winds up dead," Gladiolus shrugged.

The tall man smirked as though he'd just figured something out. Gladiolus had let something slip.

"If we find you to be in our way, we'll remove you. I suggest you call off this venture of yours," the man said. He looked over Gladiolus's shoulder at Sania. "I would hate to be responsible for the loss of such a credit to academia."

Gladiolus grabbed the man's shirt collar but he broke out of the grasp with only the slightest effort and knocked Gladiolus on the ground. The woman raised her rifle and the smaller man raised his hands, charging up a spell of some kind. Prompto and Ignis rushed into action, each readying their own weapon, but the tall man shook his head and just laughed.

"Five on three? Not very sportsmanlike is it? Besides we don't to scare all these nice people here. Turn back now, kiddos. If we find you in the Vesperpool, we _will_ kill you all."

The man turned around and began to walk away. His cohorts followed suit.

"Gladio, are you alright?" Ignis asked.

"Just my pride," Gladiolus hissed, getting back up.

"Who were they?" Sania asked.

"No idea," Gladiolus replied. "But they're going to be trouble."

"We're still going to the Vesperpool though right?" Noctis asked.

"Of course. When did threat of certain death ever stop us from doing anything?" Prompto asked.


	3. Chapter 3

**Spring Rains - Part 03**

The group returned to Wiz who had just finished unloading the chocobos and fitting them all with saddles. He turned and saw the concerned looks, but more importantly the empty hands.

"Were they out of teriyaki?" He asked.

"No, some Hunters decided to start something with us," Gladiolus replied.

Wiz groaned. "You know you boys have a tendency to piss a lot of people off wherever you go?"

"That's what we're known best for," Prompto replied.

"So, what's the deal now?" Wiz asked. "They complain about you stealing their signature look?"

"Apparently they're seeking the same mark as us and don't fancy competition," Ignis explained.

"But you're still gonna go anyways," Wiz said.

"Of course," Noctis nodded.

Wiz handed the reins of one of the birds to Noctis. He patted Dave on the shoulder and gave Sania a hug. He made his way up the stairs and at the top he turned to the boys.

"Well, boys. I, uh," Wiz faltered for a moment, and then took an unnatural inhale. He then clapped his hands together and made a dusting motion. "I'm gonna get something to eat. You all have a fun trip."

Wiz turned and made his way for the market.

"What was that about?" Prompto asked.

"I believe Wiz just washed his hands of your mess," Dave commented. "Come on, we'd better get going. We'll want to be up the mountain before noon."

*-Spring Rains=*

The mountain trek wasn't exactly easy on chocobos, but it was much better than hiking. The only person who really struggled was Sania, who was desperately trying to keep her balance as she rode side saddle on the massive bird. Her chocobo in turn was trying to balance Sania's lopsided weight and the saddlebag full of research tools she had packed, all of which she had insisted were vitally important to their task.

"Remind me again why we couldn't have taken a car for this journey?" She complained as she part-hugged, part-throttled the chocobo's neck.

"Do you want to pay Cid to repair a Crown City car that gets flooded?" Dave replied, gracefully sprinting ahead of her.

"We're almost at the top, Professor," Ignis said reassuringly.

Almost was a subjective term as the trek took another hour before they reached the Meldacio Hunter HQ. The safe haven for the realms monster hunters was built beneath the barrier mountains that separated Cleigne from the Vesperpool. A small stretch of road was ceilinged by twisting gnarled earthen arches that jutted out from the mountain side, making the place a natural tunnel, at the end of which was the man-made variety.

"Through the tunnel and we're going to be in a downpour," Sania said. "With the lowlands completely submerged I've had to hire a ferryman to get us to Myrlwood. But we can take the highway for a good chunk of the way to start with."

"Better get these ponchos on then, huh?" Prompto said pulling out his own small rubber poncho. It was bright orange with white stripes and lining for improved visibility.

Gladiolus looked at the markings and rubbed his chin. "You think wearing that is really such a good idea?"

"Well we'll be more visible to human adversaries, certainly," Dave said, noting Gladiolus's concern. "But it would be a hell of a way to go, falling out of a boat and drowning because we can't see you in a sea of black water."

"It'd be a hell of a way to go being sniper from afar because you were wearing a bright orange target," Gladiolus said. "Prompto, you're the sniper, isn't this basically gift-wrapping a kill for them?"

Prompto shrugged. "It's dark, rainy, windy and the field is surrounded by trees. I literally cannot think of worse sniping conditions."

Ignis nodded and put on his poncho. "That would be the 'expert opinion' Gladio."

Gladiolus grudgingly put his on as well. They grabbed a quick bite at the restaurant before remounting their birds and heading into the tunnel.

"It's a good thing chocobos can swim," Gladiolus said as they exited the other side.

The Vesperpool was not simply overfull from the wet season. Gladiolus had seen it like that on a couple of occasions, though usually on television as the season came about so rarely. But this was a whole other level. It was as Sania had said. The lowlands were gone, the tops of some of the taller trees jutting out defiantly like the bobbing head of a shipwreck victim stubbornly defying death. The midlands and the rocky outcroppings around the edges of the vesperpool were soaking wet with water and threatened to be overtaken in mere days. Even the mountainous region near the Myrlwood was looking part waterfall.

"Steyliff Grove has vanished," Dave said. "And I can barely see half of the usual landmarks. I wonder what the Marlboro population has done to survive. _If_ they survived."

"Are you concerned about… Marlboros?" Prompto asked.

"They may be nasty buggers, kid, but they're an important part of the food chain around here. Namely, they're in charge of eating _other_ things that would eat us," Dave explained. "Cockatrice herd'll be alright I think. They usually roost near Myrlwood."

"How shall we proceed Professor?" Ignis asked.

"Let's cross the highway and meet up with my ferryman. It's about 3 kilometers wester of here. He said he'd meet me on the peninsula near the old Haven. Assuming that wasn't completely swallowed up too," Sania said.

"And if it was?" Noctis asked.

"Well, we cross that bridge when we get to it," Sania replied - seemingly unaware of the irony that they were, in fact, crossing a bridge at the moment.

The rain was beating them down, and even the chocobos were having difficult staying energetic under the torrent. The crossing on the highway was slow and methodical, as neither birds nor riders had the energy to take the passage swiftly.

Gladiolus felt a shudder beneath his bird's feet.

"Hey, somethings happening Dave," Gladiolus said.

"I feel it too. Probably the rushing water beneath us," Dave replied.

There was a sudden lurch and a loud snapping sound, like the bone of a giant being cracked down the middle. On one strut of the bridge was Sania, Ignis and Prompto. On the strut that was currently collapsing into the pool of water below was Gladiolus, Noctis and Dave and their respective mounts.

The three safe companions shouted, but there was nothing else they could do within the three second span it took the endangered to meet murky water. Gladiolus was submerged for a few minutes but fought against the current and managed to breach the surface of the water with some difficulty. He was being swept down a massive flowing stream of water, fighting for each breath. His chocobo had, thankfully, managed to find its way back out of the water and was fleeing the scene in a sensible but regrettable decision to focus on self-preservation. Gladiolus didn't see Noctis or Dave's birds, but he did see them. Dave was clinging to Noctis by his fingers as they too were swept along downstream a few kilometers into the murky and drenched valley below.

"Noct!" Gladiolus shouted as he tried to swim closer to them. "Dave!"

A sudden jerking sensation gripped his middle. He had hit a submerged rock quite hard. The stream was now branching out in two paths: Dave and Noctis floating off in one direction, and Gladiolus in the other. He fought desperately to correct his course, but in doing so only managed to exacerbate his newfound injury. He tumbled down a few rain-formed waterfalls before landing in the larger still body of the Vesperpool proper. Finally able to swim for himself, he made his way to the closest thing resembling dry land, a bit of rock connected to the cliffs of the midlands.

He stood up and scanned the horizon for any sign of his friends. He could see the highway in the distance, and prayed that they at least had the good sense to stay put. Unfortunately he knew that would not be the case. As for Dave and Noctis all the shouting in the world wasn't going to make them magically pop up in the middle of this ceaseless storm. He gripped his side and took a look at it to see a massive gash, openly bleeding. He leaned down beneath a rocky outcrop and began to patch himself up with the small emergency first aid kit he kept in his belt. A few sutures later and the bleeding had stopped.

He rested his head against the rock behind him and sighed. He reached for his phone, which was gratefully still on him, but drenched as it was the device had been demoted to the role of an expensive paper weight.

"Great," Gladiolus groaned, folding his arms. He wouldn't be able to move for a while with his injury. And sleep seemed to be quickly overtaking him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Spring Rains - Part 04**

Gladiolus awoke after a few hours. It was ostensibly during the night, though it was hard to tell with the thick cloud cover. He reflexively reached for his phone but remembered that it had shorted out due to the water. He clutched his waist and stood up slowly, letting out a soft grunt from the pain. He'd grown too accustomed to Noctis healing him with the power of the Kings that he'd almost forgotten what it was like to heal naturally.

He stepped out from under the outcropping and rain battered his poncho once again. The engorged Vesperpool was before him, thick midland woods to his right, and behind him somewhere off far in the distance was the highway. He tried to listen for any sounds of the others. He knew they would come searching for him, but whether or not they were in the right place was the main question.

He noticed that the water was a bit higher up on the rocks and by morning his dry patch would be soaked in a thin layer of water for sure. Two survival urges were put at odds here. The first: When you are lost from a group, you should stay in one place. It makes it easier for you to be found. The second: Don't drown. He tried to call out for the others, but his voice didn't carry far over the wind and rain. There was nothing to do for it. Gladiolus couldn't stay here.

He lifted himself up onto the cliffs above him and began walking upstream towards the fork that had separated him and Noctis. Finding the Prince was his first priority. He knew traveling at night was dangerous, but if Dave and Noctis hadn't found a safe place to make camp, they would need his help.

His boots made hideous sloshing sound as he walked up the drenched green hills, the raging flow at his side whooshed on, the heavy drops beat against the rubber poncho. It was a cacophonous din that made it hard to think straight. And to make matters worse there was the distant sound of rolling thunder.

Mud and rainwater was all he could smell, and while he would never admit it if the others were around his stomach growled furiously. He reached into his pouch to see if maybe he'd had the foresight to pack something away to eat. He hadn't.

 _Well done, Gladio¸_ he thought bitterly. _All that time telling the boys to be prepared and you screw up yourself._

A howl came up from the trees across the river. He didn't have the patience to deal with any monsters right now and decided evasion would be the better course. He could only be so evasive in soaking wet clothes, but he found a nice large rock to lay beside until the pack passed. Three Sabertusks leapt over the water and began sniffing around for their prey. It was at this time Gladiolus realized how cold he was in his drenched attire.

The Sabertusks grunted and growled and began to circle the area. They had clearly caught Gladiolus's scent. Perhaps even the scent of his blood. At least that's what he'd thought until they rushed off in the opposite direction and tackled a large shape on the far end of the plateau. There was a loud "Wark!" followed by a piteous screeching.

The Sabertusks had found - and killed - one of their chocobos.

Gladiolus listened as the menaces chewed away at the poor bird. The ripping of flesh, the squelch of blood and organs. It was sickening and filled Gladiolus with rage. He wanted to carve those beasts apart for what they had done, but he knew he'd never be able to take all three of them in his condition. Once the nauseating feast was finished the beasts stalked away from the scene to find their next target.

Gladiolus didn't want to do it, but he knew what he had to do. He slowly made his way towards the remains of the chocobo to see if any of the supplies were still intact. It was a gory mess, and even the hardened Gladiolus had difficulty looking upon it. He noticed that the birds legs had been broken - the Sabertusks couldn't have done that. It must have fallen from the river. That would explain why it wasn't able to get away. He took solace in the fact that, perhaps, what the Sabertusks had done was a mercy of sorts.

He patted the birds head, and uttered a quick prayer of thanks before he began to search the scene. Most of the leather bags had been torn into and anything resembling food had been carved clean by the fiends. One saddlebag remained untouched - though it only contained some rope, a grappling hook, a compass and a flashlight. Still, he would take all the help he could get. He strapped the bag to his waist and turned away from the chocobo.

Making his way back up the river he saw the fork where he and Noctis had been split. The rock that had carved a deep gash in his side was barely visible. He'd never be able to ford the thing, and didn't fancy making a second uphill trek.

 _Now how in the hell am I supposed to get over there,_ Gladiolus pondered, rubbing his side.

If only he could warp like Noctis. He looked for a distant tree or rock - something he could hit the grappling hook with. Nothing in nature seemed to be on his side at the moment, but one man-made structure looked promising. A slightly bent street sign that was a few meters away from the stream.

 _Better than nothing_ , he thought grimly as he wound up the grappling hook.

He flung the metal hook at the sign and it connected, but it was a precarious connection. He tugged the rope tight to give it as snug a fit as he could. He took a deep breath, gripped the rope with both hands and made his way into the river.

He lost his footing almost immediately, as he figured he would, but the rope held. He slowly treaded water over to the opposite side of the river, pulling himself up the rope. It was a strange sensation, the rivers flow pushing him to his side as he climbed up a rope and yet was moving forward horizontally. Combined with the light-headedness from hunger, fatigue and blood loss it was a wholly disorienting experience. However in sheer defiance of his own body, Gladiolus managed to make it across the river and lay on the opposite bank to reorient himself.

 _Yeah, let's never do that again,_ Gladiolus thought, his internal monologue taking on a voice that sounded more like Prompto's than his own.

He might have fallen asleep right there, but a sudden realization of the danger he was in (and more important, Noctis was in) forced him to retake to his feet. Slowly but surely he made his way back down the hills on the opposite side of the river. The forked path had split wide and he soon found himself heading more east than north. Any further and he'd wind up in the flooded ruins of Steyliff Grove.

He glanced around the riverbank for any sign of Dave and Noctis. The banks lay bare, though bits of gore and sinew strewn along the trees were not an encouraging sign. And the sudden realization that he was swiftly entering Marlboro territory hung over him, darker than any cloud in the sky. He would have gladly taken a dozen Sabertusks in his current condition over one a single Marlboro perfectly healthy.

The massive sentient collection of vines and rubbery flesh, connected to a massive gaping maw with row upon row of razor-sharp teeth. It was a furious enemy and one that every Hunter respected openly, and feared secretly.

He was so busy pondering the potential nightmare - or indeed, nest of nightmares - that await him within these woods that he almost forgot what he was there to do. He tried calling out to see if the forest would guide his words better.

"Noctis!" He shouted. "Dave!"

Something whizzed past him in the trees. A small light. It stopped right in front of him. That wasn't a light. It was a red dot.

Gladiolus jumped behind the trees as the shot rang out, the high caliber bullet splintering the bark behind him.

 _Great,_ Gladiolus cursed internally. _And now I have to deal with a sniper._


	5. Chapter 5

**Spring Rains - Part 05**

Gladiolus tried to gather his wits; a difficult prospect given that he was soaked, hungry, tired and wounded. At the moment he knew three things: he was being shot at, whoever was shooting him was on the opposite side of this tree from him, and if he was able to clear the distance between them and him he would rip their spine out.

He tried to plot an escape course. He wasn't going to outrun a bullet anytime soon, but he might be able to move quicker than the sniper's ability to aim. It was a risky proposition which only afforded him one real possibility: moving deeper into the forest. He tried to ignore the voice in the back of his head which told him that if he was trying to trap somebody this more or less how he would do it.

He plodded forward into the tree line, trying to keep as low a profile as he could. He scanned all around him for any signs of the telltale red dot. A few more shots rang out, but from what Gladiolus could tell they were blind shots. As Prompto had observed - the currenty conditions must have made for a miserable sniper. Still, only one shot had to connect for Gladiolus's journey to come to a sudden end, so he continued moving.

However, he quickly ran out of room. The midlands sloped low on this side of the Vesperpool, before gradually leading into the lowland swamp near Steyliff. And he had reached the water line. The mountains on his right were impassable, at least in this weather. Ahead of him and to his left was the water. Behind him was death from a sniper's bullet.

A few more shots echoed, one of which hit a tree just a few meters away from Gladiolus. Was the sniper following him? He looked out over the water. He could swim, if he had to, but foul things lurked in the lake water, and likely more still since the swamp had been engulfed. If he could find something to provide some cover for the time being he would be risk it.

He saw a small island of stonework ahead of him about a half kilometer out. It was barely visible, but he recognized the top of one of Steyliff Grove's exterior parapets. And then he realized why he was able to make it out. There was a flashlight flickering weakly on top of it. Somebody was out there.

Seeing no other option at the moment, he jumped into the water and swam towards the stonework. He tried to remain beneath the water as much as he could, but even so he felt the presence of the sniper honing in on him. The tower was drawing closer now but the sniper was not giving up their pursuit, three more shots whizzed past him in the water.

Again, the voice chided Gladiolus. Poor conditions or not, Gladiolus was a slow swimmer and a proverbial sitting duck. Any sniper worth their salt would have hit him at least once. Was it possible that this sniper was drawing him towards this tower? What if the flashlight had been left there by them as a beacon?

It was too late to change his mind now. With a final burst of energy he shot his arm up to the stonework above him. He felt a rough hand meet his and pull him up into the tower. The shots ceased, and Gladiolus lay on his back in a coughing fit.

The small tower outcropping was maybe 16 square meters around with a roof covering all but the back corner of it. Openings into the stone to serve as lookout posts gave a good view all around but unfortunately let the rainwater in. A stairs seemed to have at once descended into Steyliff Grove proper but was shattered and ruined. The path remained, but if one went down there would be no getting out.

"Take it easy, Gladio," said Dave's gruff voice. "You look like you've been to hell and back."

"I didn't realize I'd gotten back," Gladiolus cursed. "Where's Noctis?"

Dave motioned over to the corner where the young prince was sleeping underneath his coat. Gladiolus let out a sigh of relief before suddenly perking back up.

"That sniper out there-"

"Led us here too. Not sure what her aim is apart from keeping us trapped here. Maybe she wants to force us to go into the dungeon beneath, or maybe she wants to wait for the rainwater to swallow us whole," Dave said. He took a look around him. "The latter of which seems to be only a day or so away from happening."

" 'Her'?" Gladiolus asked. But then he suddenly remembered the group they'd met in Lestallum. "Wait, the sniper is that Hunter?"

Dave nodded. "Yeah, no doubt about it."

And then Dave recounted what had happened to them after they had been split up. Dave and Noctis were flung down all the way to the lowlands and had to swim back to the outskirts of the woods. Dave had also wanted to avoid the forest if at all possible to limit the risk of running into Marlboros or Cockatrices, but they eventually stumbled upon the sniper's nest.

"Noctis wanted to fight. He still had his own sniper rifle from that magic stockpile of his. He got a good look at her, but he's not much for aiming. His shot went wild, hers didn't," Dave sighed grimly. "Noct took a hit in his leg. I'm pretty sure if she wanted to she could have killed him. I don't know why she hasn't killed us yet."

"I doubt she's really being merciful. This seems more like a cat playing with her food," Gladiolus said. "Is Noct okay?"

Dave nodded. "Yeah, when we got here he was able to patch himself up, but he took one hell of a nasty hit."

Gladiolus leaned back against the wall and tried to look around for any other way out of this mess. There were no other islands, at least on the eastern bank. Perhaps if they felt like swimming the few kilometers across the Vesperpool they might find something. If they could even survive that trek.

"I've been mulling it over and the only way we are getting out of here is either to head down into Steyliff Grove or to find some way back through the forest. Maybe if the three of us can bum rush her we might be able to clear a path, but she definitely has the home field advantage," Dave explained.

"And what about the Grove? There's only one door out and it's submerged. The entire place is probably flooded by now," Gladiolus said. "Maybe that's her aim. Force us to die down there - hide the bodies of her crime."

"We're going to have to make a decision sooner or later," Dave said. "But maybe for right now you ought to get some rest. Whatever happens we're going to be in a mess and you'll need some energy."

He reached into his satchel at his waist and pulled out a small protein bar. He handed one to Gladiolus.

"Here, you're probably starving," Dave said.

Gladiolus was and he devoured the bar in a matter of seconds. It came a long way from filling him up, but it was still a solid enough meal. He lay back, still soaking from head to toe and tried to find a comfortable nook to sleep in.

Just as he was falling asleep, Dave shook his shoulder.

"Hey, Gladio, take a look at this," he said.

Gladiolus grunted and lifted himself up. Dave was pointing towards the remnants of the highway far off in the distance.

"What are you getting at?" Gladiolus asked.

"Look there," he said, pointing to a tiny almost unrecognizable spot of light in the distance.

"Campfire?" Gladiolus guessed. "No probably more like one of the large floodlights we packed. That could be Sania and the others."

He shook Noctis.

"Noct, get up!" Dave said.

Noctis groaned and turned around slowly. His eyes opened wide at the sight of Gladiolus.

"Gladio! You're okay!" Noct exclaimed.

"No time for the reunion, we need your sniper rifle," Gladiolus instructed.

Noctis nodded and summoned it to him. At Dave's instruction he aimed the scope at the point of light in the distance. It was dark, but with the surrounding floodlights Noctis was able to make out three figures. And one of them was wearing a bright red sunhat.

"That's them!" Noctis exclaimed. "They all look okay."

"Maybe we can send them signals with the flashlight?" Gladiolus asked.

"They'd never notice our dinky light way out here. We barely noticed their flood lamps and it took a high powered scope to see them," Dave said.

"Flashlight?" Noctis grunted. "Are you forgetting that I can use magic?"

And with a burst of energy from his hand he shot a massive ball of flame towards the sky. It lit up the night like the noon day sun before fading out into nothingness.

"Well," Dave nodded. "I reckon they'll have noticed that."


	6. Chapter 6

**Spring Rains - Part 06**

Gladiolus would later learn that the others had seen the fireball. Unfortunately it did them little good at the present moment as something else had noticed it as well. Shortly after Dave's off-hand comment a massive slimy tentacle burst forth from the water and smashed against the top of the tower. Some of the loose stones gave way and Noctis barely ducked out of the way of a collapsing part of the roof.

"What the hell is that?!" Gladiolus shouted, drawing his blade.

"Something that's been waiting in the lake for a long time," Dave grunted. "I heard rumors of a massive fiend within these pools, but never thought I'd see the day…"

"Whatever it is," Noctis said, charging up a lightning spell in his palm. "I'm going to send it back below."

He sent the massive bolt into the water and the tentacle shivered from the electric shock. In one final defiant swipe it fell forward onto the tower, rending the thing in half down the middle. Gladiolus fell with the stonework deep into the water, but was able to extract himself and get back onto dry land. He felt a slight buzzing in his body from the remnants of the electrical charge but was otherwise relatively unhurt.

"Well, there goes our shelter," Dave cursed. "And our cover. If that sniper decides to start shooting again we have nowhere to go but back down there."

The tentacles began writhing once more and latched around the outer structure with renewed vigor. A massive gaping maw slowly rose from the water.

"I think we're out of options at this point!" Gladiolus yelled. "Noct! Into the hole!"

Noctis leapt first followed by Dave. A tendril lashed out towards Gladiolus but he cut through it with his greatsword and then joined the others below. Gladiolus landed in a waist deep river where once had stood one of Steyliff's higher corridors.

"This is just great," Dave groaned. "And the water is rising fast. We need to find another exit and quick."

"The central chamber has that ceiling with the enchanted barrier which looks into the waters above," Noctis recalled. "Maybe we can get out there?"

Gladiolus shook his head. "We'd still be under the Vesperpool if we tried to leave there. Worse yet, that thing might follow us in."

In just the time they'd been discussing the water had already risen to crotch-level. Dave punched the wall in frustration. "There has to be something we're not seeing. Stay here and drown, go back up and be eaten or try to find something we missed."

The three men charged down the hall as fast as they could move half-submerged in water. With water covering most of the structure they didn't have to contend with any demons, but that was only a minor saving grace as they dove further away from the only known safe exit. The ancient stonework seemed especially blue as the pool light danced across it, and the crumbling rock gave way in odd places as the structure filled with water. The enchanted barrier held, but the foundation had cracks which were allowing lake water to drain into the ruins.

"This is stupid," Noctis grumbled as he sloshed about checking each passage for some hint of a way out.

"If you want to go face that giant squid then that's all you," Gladiolus barked.

They were now swimming rather than walking and Noctis's feet could only barely reach the floor below him.

"There has to be something damn it!" Dave shouted. "I really don't want to die down here!"

Gladiolus looked up and noticed with dismay that his eyes immediately hit the stone above him. They had maybe two minutes before they were submerged within the tunnels.

"We have to make our way out to the main chamber, we're running out of room here!" Gladiolus ordered.

They swam, partially submerged, out to the main room with the enchanted ceiling. This gave them a few minutes yet but time was not on their side.

"Listen, we only have one choice. We're going to have to swim up through the lake!" Gladiolus shouted over the raging fury of the floodwaters.

"But what about that monster?!" Noctis asked.

"Well it's either drown here or risk being eaten!" Dave yelled back. "We've got weapons!"

Gladiolus swam over to a particularly large gap that might be enough for him to squeeze through. "We won't be able to get up through here until we've submerged completely. Fortunately that doesn't look like it will be much longer."

"You're a cut-up Gladdy," Dave grunted. "Swim straight up as fast as you can and watch your surroundings. And if you feel something tugging at your leg, well be sure to kill it along with you."

The water was at their necks now and the ceiling right in front of them.

"One last breath now then move!" Gladiolus yelled.

This order almost cost him his breath as the water formed a seal with the leaks, submerging the ruins completely. Dave went first, and Noctis followed. Gladiolus struggled to get through the gap but it refused to give way to his width. The others were moving far ahead without him but he couldn't make it through. He was stuck. He beat at the rocks as hard as he could but it was no use. He was running out of air.

Suddenly the massive creature from before found him and wrapped him in one of his tentacles, pulling him forcefully out of the gap. Gladiolus felt his legs rip from the rocks and blood filled the water. He could barely focus now, his lungs were ready to burst. He grabbed a dagged from his pack and stabbed the tentacle. It let go and shriveled back in pain. He lunged forward towards the surface but there was a lot of water left between him and air.

He choked and accidentally let in some water. This was it. This was how he was going to go.

Ahead of him he felt something grab him by the collar. A hand? No, it was harder than that still. His hands felt wet feather and then a moment later his body burst through the surface and he let in a glorious lungful of air.

He coughed water out, enough to spit out the word "Chocobo."

"You kept us waiting, tough guy," Noctis shouted. Gladiolus could see through his red, puffy eyes that Noctis was astride a chocobo of his own as was Dave.

"Monster… coming," Gladiolus choked out.

Dave nodded. "Come on birds, ya!"

The chocobos let out a defiant "kweh!" and rode out to the far southern bank. But there was no sign of the tentacled monstrosity behind them. They reached the shore and climbed up a few switchbacks to reach the camp they'd noticed earlier. Of course, their friends had provided the chocobos.

Prompto seemed closed to tears and he tackled Noctis in a huge hug and even Ignis seemed to be lacking his usual calm and objective demeanor.

"You all worried us something fierce," Ignis said.

This was the last thing Gladiolus heard before his injuries and exhaustion overcame him. He fell off of his chocobo and landed on the soggy earth, out cold.


	7. Chapter 7

**Spring Rains - Part 07**

Gladiolus awoke and immediately knew something was very off. For one thing, he was mostly dry, apart from some residual moisture in his hair. And he was laying in what was definitely a proper bed and not the camping bed roll. He looked around and saw that he was in the caravan at the Meldacio Hunter HQ. Sania was sitting next to him.

"Oh!" She exclaimed kneeling down. "You're awake! How do you feel?"

"My thighs are torn up and my head hurts," Gladiolus grunted, although upon actually feeling for them he noticed that they were bandaged up neatly. "What are we doing back here? Did you guys finish the job while I was out?"

Sania shook her head. "No, when the boys saw how injured you were they insisted on bringing you back here to get you treated. After things started to look up they headed back in the Vesperpool. They've been gone for about a day now."

Gladiolus wanted to be irritated that they left without him, but what choice did they have? They still had to deal with the monster, the Vesperpool was still flooding and he was just dead weight.

"Those other Hunters are still out there," Gladiolus said as he stood up. "And whatever that lake beast is… well it's on another level."

Sania put her hands on Gladiolus's bare chest. "I know what you're thinking but you're still not in great shape. You'd be risking putting yourself in even greater jeopardy than you are in now."

"If nothing else," Gladiolus said, grabbing her hands. "I'm a Crownguard, and the Shield of the Prince of Lucis. If Noctis goes somewhere, I have to go with him."

Sania's breath seemed a bit shallow and she leaned back slightly. She nodded before sitting down. Gladiolus put on his clothes and made ready to leave the caravan.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asked.

Sania sighed and leaned back against the wall. "I'll be fine. It's you I'm concerned about, but I suppose you know best. Just be careful, please."

Gladiolus tried to flash her a confident look but it came out slightly pained as he bent down. In his heart of hearts he knew this probably was a stupid endeavor. Okay, _definitely_ was a stupid endeavor. But he wasn't wrong about his duty either. And with the myriad dangers his friends were now facing he would not sit by in some trailer while they risked their lives.

As he stepped out onto the road he noticed that the rain was thick here as well, and the dryness he was enjoying immediately began to ebb away underfoot as a seven centimeter thick river had overtaken the camp. It was not terribly deep yet, but it would be soon. There was a chocobo rental, but he'd seen enough birds suffer injuries and die on his account. He chose a more practical solution, grabbing one of the kayaks from the sporting goods shop on the corner and setting it down in the flowing water. The tunnel sank down into the Vesperpool area proper and what was a mild slope at best on a bird or a car became a practical waterslide for the kayak. The trickling trail of water only got him about halfway down the tunnel and he came to a screeching halt (quite literally) as the boats underside scraped against the still dry pavement. He got up and began to carry the boat down the road.

 _Well,_ he thought grudgingly. _At least we know the area isn't completely flooded yet._

Though he may have spoken too soon. When he emerged from the dark and damp tunnel he found a sea waiting for him. The overpass highway was still dry as were the upper peaks of the midlands, including the distant signs of life from the Myrlwood. But everything else was now a thick, black ocean of floodwater. He had no idea where his friends might be, only where they would be heading. He climbed down to a lower cliff and set his kayak in the water. With as much fury as he could summon in his crippled state he paddled towards the Myrlwood on the opposite bank.

At first, the journey was uneventful - at least as far as boating through treetops and trying to survive a beating of rain could be called uneventful. But before long he began to notice shapes in the water around him, swimming and popping up near the surface for a bit before diving back into the deep. It unnerved him and did not help that he could barely see them for the blackness in the sky.

He groaned as he felt his stitches buckle with the pressure he was putting on his mid-section, but he pressed on anyway. One of the things leapt out of the water and stood atop a rock. It had leathery skin and deep black eyes. It seemed to be a hunched over old man, completely nude but with webbed hands and feet and with a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. It had a long tail and spikes protruding from its back connected by similar webbing to make a sort of fin.

"Sahagin," Gladiolus grunted, as he paddled quicker.

The Sahagin were a tribe of semi-intelligent beasts. They had the advantage at fighting surrounded by all this water and Gladiolus didn't want to take them on if they didn't have to. The good thing about semi-intelligent sentient beings is that, generally, they won't attack unless provoked. But as more and more of these creatures popped up out of the water to stand vigil on surface stones, treetops and even a floating barrel, Gladiolus began to wonder if they weren't just setting up for an ambush.

"Nothing to see here," Gladiolus said in a calm voice which would have been comforting were it not for his gravelly tone. "Just out for a nice boat trip in the middle of a storm."

As one their fins began to react to his words, twitching and then swaying back and forth rhythmically. He doubted that was a good sign.

"No need to trouble yourself with me, fish folk! I'm sure you have lots to do yourself," Gladiolus called again.

This didn't take. One particularly large one came up out of the water directly in front of him and grabbed on to the front of the kayak. Another came at his back. The one behind seemed to simply hold the boat steady as the one afore looked straight into Gladiolus's eyes. This one had dark crimson skin and held a trident at one side.

"Just passing through," Gladiolus said, in one last bid for peace.

The Sahagin opened its mouth wide, revealing its sharp fangs. It let out a sharp screech and raised its trident high. It was going in for an attack. There was no time to do anything else. He summoned his greatsword and plunged it deep into the beasts stomach. It lurched forward onto the blade and slid off, the sound of its crunching bones snapping against the steel ringing out before it plunged into the water. He turned to his side and pointed his blade at the creature on the back who hissed defiantly and leapt back into the water. The creatures at his sides all suddenly leapt as one back into the water below.

This unnerved Gladiolus more than if they'd simply attacked. What were they plotting beneath the waves? Unfortunately he ran out of time to focus on that mystery as one immediate danger became apparent as his boat slid on to the opposite shore. Prompto and Ignis were in the middle of a fight against two other figures who Gladiolus soon recognized as the female sniper and the mage hunter. Ignis looked badly hurt but Prompto's fancy shooting was keeping them at bay.

Wasting no time, especially noting that Noctis was not with them, he rushed into the fray with his weapon drawn.

"Gladio!" Prompto shouted as he fired off a few rounds.

"Thought you could use some help!" He shouted back, using his massive blade to deflect a fireball from the mage. "Who the hell are these clowns!?"

"Not fans of ours, that's for certain," Ignis said, leaning heavily on his spear and trying to summon a weak spell of his own.

"Where's Noctis?!" Gladiolus barked.

"He and Dave were dragged off by their leader. He took them both into the Myrlwood!" Ignis replied, finally charging a mild Bolt spell and hurling it at the sniper.

Gladiolus took the opportunity to knock her down to the ground and Prompto's last shot his the mage square in the chest. The battle was over. The sniper tried to reach for her gun, but Prompto kicked it away.

"Savio!" She shouted, but the mage was quickly bleeding out and could not respond. Ignis made his way over to him and bound his arms together before starting to patch him up.

"We should just let him die!" Gladiolus barked.

"I would rather not enrage their comrade until I am certain Noctis and Dave are safe," Ignis explained as he began to heal the mage - only enough to keep him from dying in that moment.

"So his name's Savio," Prompto said. "What about you?"

The sniper hissed, and through a scowl grunted out "Leta."

"And your boss?" Prompto asked.

"Alcander."

Gladiolus frowned, and then on a suspicion at their foreign names took a look at her lapel. He pulled her shirt down a bit to reveal a telltale barcode tattooed on her neck. He chuckled darkly. "Some Hunters indeed. Why not just give us your ranks as well?"

"What's that?" Prompto asked.

"They're not Hunters, Prompto. They're MTs," Ignis explained.


	8. Chapter 8

**Spring Rains - Part 08**

"So Imperials," Gladiolus said after he finished tying Leta and Savio to a tree. "If your job was to kill us you had plenty of opportunity to do so."

"Our orders were to deter you from the Sahagin Chieftain who is calling the rains. Our orders expressed no interest in killing you unless it was absolutely necessary and we were not to kill your Prince friend no matter what," Leta explained.

"You're chatty when you don't have your rifle," Prompto said.

"It doesn't matter," Savio replied shaking his head. "Go and kill the Sahagin Chieftain if you wish. Save the Vesperpool. Go be heroes."

"I doubt we're getting the full story that easily," Ignis rubbed his chin.

Leta and Savio remained silent. Gladiolus raised his blade to Savio's throat.

"You'll get no more from us muscle-head," Savio spat. "We've told you enough to save your friend but whether we live or die doesn't really matter to the Empire."

"Does it matter to you?" Prompto asked.

Savio shrugged. Leta nodded. "Sure it matters. But only if we have a job to do. Ours is finished."

Prompto folded his arms and cocked his head to the side. "You guys are depressing, you know that?"

"What do you think Iggy?" Gladiolus asked, turning to Ignis who had a puzzled look of his own.

"They're clearly lying about something- but I think it's a lie of omission. What they speak has the ring of truth to it. It explains why they didn't kill any of us when they had plenty of opportunity. And you've surely noticed the peculiar behavior of the Sahagin first hand," Ignis nodded.

Gladiolus recalled the encounter with half a clan from earlier, and their stoic vigil over the area leading up to the Myrlwood.

"So why is the Sahagin Chief calling the rain then?" Gladiolus asked.

"Probably because the Sahagin like it wet," Savio replied sarcastically.

"Nice," Gladiolus grunted. "We can't waste any more time. We have to go after Noctis now."

"What about them? They'll drown if the water rises much higher," Prompto said.

"Seems to me like you answered your own question," Gladiolus replied.

Ignis shook his head. "Disarm them and let them go."

"One of them can fling fireballs," Gladiolus interjected.

"If they attempt to regoup then we can kill them. Seems to me they let us live when they could have killed us so we ought to return to favor. Once," Ignis said.

Gladiolus shrugged. "You're the boss."

He tossed Leta's Sniper Rifle to Prompto and took a sidearm from Savio's belt before he loosed the knots.

"You can undo the rest yourself. If I even see you looking in our direction I'll gut you myself," Gladiolus ordered.

Leta and Savio scowled back, and as if that wasn't enough Savio felt compelled to add, "You'll regret not killing us here."

"I already do," Gladiolus said, knocking the mage out with a pommel strike to the top of his head. "Hope you're as tough as you look, because you'll need to drag your friend out of here."

The three men turned and ran off towards the entrance of the Myrlwood, leaving Leta behind them, fussing with the last bits of the rope. Once they could no longer hear the imperial soldier cursing them they slowed down and adopted a stealthier stride.

"Now we can only hope Alcander showed our friends the same nobility we just demonstrated," Ignis said, peering around a corner of the rock into the thick tangled jungle.

"You're infuriating at times you know that?" Gladiolus sighed, moving into the clearing ahead. "I'll take point. Prompto, that rifle you took off Leta have infrared?"

Prompto checked the scope. For a moment he seemed entranced, and after a series of clicks and responsive beeps from the scope Prompto remembered the question. "Uh, yes. Infrared to say the least. This is one of the most advanced scopes I've ever seen."

"Top end military hardware given to an elite sniper. Are you surprised?" Gladiolus asked. His boot landed in a deceptively deep puddle. He groaned and pulled his leg back up and continued searching for the unsubmerged bits of the jungle turned wetland.

"Fancy toys do not an elite sniper make. With this setup, Sania could nail a moving target from 300 meters," Prompto explained.

"So naturally in your hands-" Ignis began.

"Yes, I will be unstoppable," Prompto grinned, before immediately tripping over a branch and landing chest first into a puddle.

"Pride goeth before the fall," Ignis chuckled.

There was a flurry of movement in the trees around them. Gladiolus's heart sunk into his gut and the dread from his boat trip returned. Silvery eyes shone in the trees and every few meters he could make out the occasional arm or leg dripping with the foul viscous secretions of the Sahagin.

"Now would be a very good time to pay attention," Gladiolus barked.

Prompto shot up and raised the rifle, scanning the surrounding trees. There was a bit of a quiver in his voice as he began to audibly count them.

"19… 22... 27," Prompto's tone grew increasingly more desperate. "Guys, I count at least 35 of these things."

"Well don't worry, you have your unstoppable sniper rifle. We'll let you handle the bulk," Ignis replied, summoning his lance.

"So I may have exaggerated my abilities the tiniest bit," Prompto squeaked. "How many do you think you can take Gladiolus?"

"Not 35," Gladiolus barked.

"You all are miserably loud you know that?" Came a familiar gravelly voice.

Alcander walked down the path ahead and cracked his knuckles. He favored Gladiolus with a nasty smirk as he assumed a fighting stance.

"You need the Sahagin to back you up? Weren't you the one complaining about us not fighting fair back in Lestallum?" Gladiolus taunted.

Alcander let out a dark laugh, before rubbing the rain water out of his eyes. "Oh you kids make me laugh. The way you stumble around in the dark falling for our obvious trap on the highway. Then the way you and those two idiots I've got locked in the Tomb can't tell you're being herded by Leta to a dead end. And you fools are so in over your head you don't even know what's really going on here."

He let a sigh escape his lips as he leaned back against a tree, folding his arms with a satisfied smile on his face.

"But as to your immediate inquiry, the Sahagin aren't here to help me," Alcander spun on the spot and with a single bone-shatter punch knocked the tree down, sending a few of the Sahagin scurrying back up to safety. He turned back to the group and readied his stance again.

"They're here to watch."


	9. Chapter 9

**Spring Rains - Part 09**

Alcander reached into his satchel and dropped a strange metallic orb onto the ground, where it rolled into the nearby puddle of water. There was a spark of electricity and with a flash of red the area glowed crimson. Ignis and Gladiolus's weapons disappeared from their hands.

"Anti-Magic Barrier. The latest gem from the Magitek division. You can't summon anything, and Magitek weapons will be useless," Alcander explained. "You'll have to fight me with your fists."

Prompto desperately jammed the trigger of the gun he'd taken from Leta but it refused to fire. "Uh, Gladio. I think this might be your show."

"We'll try to do something about that barrier," Ignis offered.

"Leave me to do the heavy lifting as always," Gladiolus grunted. "Fine then."

Alcander rushed at Gladiolus and for a man of his size his speed was impressive. A quick hook to Gladiolus's gut was just barely blocked but followed up quickly by an elbow check to his jaw. Gladiolus fell to his right, ears ringing from the blow. Dazed, he took another unanswered hook to his ribs followed by a cheap kidney shot.

The pain sent quakes through his body but it also forced him to snap out of his haze. He dodged an uppercut and managed to circle around to deliver two quick jabs at Alcander's back, knocking him forward. He turned with a wild haymaker but Gladiolus ducked under it and returned a kidney shot of his own.

Alcander's reaction to pain was equally pronounced, sending a brutal forward kick at Gladiolus, once again knocking him on his ass. Prompto, temporarily abandoned the search for the anti-Magic device and jumped onto Alcander's back. He tried valiantly to choke the giant, but Alcander simply leapt back against a cliff wall, knocking the wind out of Prompto and forcing him to lose his grip.

Gladiolus was up and then right back down, knocked down by the flung body of Prompto. Alcander cracked his neck and moved towards Ignis.

"You all should have just given up," Alcander said. "And not just you four, but your entire wretched Kingdom. The weak submit to the strong and I've not run into a Lucian yet who was worth a damn."

Ignis tried nobly to defend himself but without the aid of Magic he was not much of a fist-fighter. Two quick punches from Alcander and he was down with a bloody lip.

"You're all far too easy to conquer. I suspect that's why we did it," Alcander laughed. "I have your king and he was helpless before me. And his Crownsguard is just as useless."

Alcander favored Ignis with a kick to the stomach before turning back to Gladiolus who was back on his feet.

"You think you're so damned strong. Without your cheap toy you'd be nothing," Gladiolus grunted.

"I could say the same thing about you and your magic. All my 'cheap toy' does is make sure the playing field is level. But you Lucians always have to use something to solve your problems for you. The Crystal, The Wall, your old Kings. Even the Hexatheon. Everything the Empire has built we did with our own hands. We didn't rely on magic to save us," Alcander scoffed.

"No," Gladiolus said rubbing his arms. "Just the daemons who destroyed Insomnia."

Alcander laughed. "Fair enough. It's all about escalation of force, I suppose."

He turned back to Ignis and bent down, reaching deep into the puddle to retrieve his device. He showed it to Gladiolus and crushed it in the palm of his hand.

"There you go. I've given you back your power. Now you might stand a chance at beating me," Alcander smirked.

Gladiolus began to summon his sword but stopped. He didn't want to kill Alcander like this. His pride wouldn't allow it. He shook his head and raised his fists.

"You still wanna do it the hard way, eh?" Alcander nodded. "You've got guts. And some honor. Let's see if you have the strength to back it up."

Alcander rushed again and Gladiolus juked left dodging his first jab. He delivered a right hook to his gut and then a crushing low kick to the back of Alcander's right knee. Alcander fell forward and tried to retaliate with a hook but it missed wildly. Gladiolus was already behind him and was picking up where Prompto left off, choking Alcander in a perfect submission hold. Alcander stood up barely lifting Gladiolus off his feet and charged towards the cliff to dismount him the same way that he'd done Prompto. But Gladiolus absorbed the crushing blow to his back and held on. Alcander did it once more but again Gladiolus held firm. The third time worked however, finally forcing Gladiolus to let go.

He stumbled back as Alcander lurched forward trying to catch him breath.

"Hard to say something smug when you're gasping for air, huh?" Gladiolus taunted.

Alcander turned to Gladiolus and wiped some blood from the back of his head. He delivered a false hook which Gladiolus blocked before realizing it was a decoy for the true jab which hit him right in the jaw. This was followed up with another ringing elbow check and a knee to the gut. Gladiolus shook it off and grabbed Alcander's leg wrenching it to the side, sending him falling to the ground. Gladiolus stomped on his stomach before pinning him. Arms under Gladiolus's knees, Alcander could do nothing but squirm as Gladiolus delivered punch after punch directly at his face. Gladiolus lost count but eventually Alcander stopped squirming and his eyes rolled back into his head. A low steady breath rumbled out of the severely battered mouth, the only assurance Gladiolus had that he had not killed this man.

"Ignis," Gladiolus called weakly. "Prompto."

"Present," Ignis groaned softly.

"Alive. Barely," Prompto replied.

"We sparing this one too?" Gladiolus asked.

"I'm not married to the idea myself," Prompto said, coughing out some blood.

"We need to make sure Noctis and Dave are safe before we do anything else," Ignis instructed. "Let's leave him here. I would just make sure he has none of those devices left."

"Ignis come on. We kill people all the time!" Prompto whined.

"Would you feel right killing a man who can't properly defend himself?" Ignis asked.

Prompto groaned. "Fine. You never let us have any fun," he turned to Gladiolus. "You should have used your damned sword."

There was a scattering above them as the Sahagin all began to scurry back to the water's edge.

"I almost forgot about our onlookers," Gladiolus said. "I hope they enjoyed the show."

"That bodes ill. Quickly, we need to get to the Tomb of the King. Noctis and Dave await," Ignis ordered.


	10. Chapter 10

**Spring Rains - Part 10**

Near the end of the Myrlwood was an especially deep and dark grove, which under normal circumstances was merely damp. More than half flooded now, even high up as it was and the surrounding cliffsides bursting over with even more water made this grove a microcosm of the Vesperpool itself, rapidly filling up. Only this time it wasn't just rain water, but a thick mudslide which made for a nigh impassable section of cliff. The familiar marble white dome was only barely visible beneath all of this, the doors were shut but there was no way they would hold out the water for long.

Gladiolus moved quickly, diving into the water and swimming towards the Tomb. He grabbed on to the last visible section of the roof and used the small momentum he could build in the flood to kick the doors open. Water came gushing in and, for a moment, the overall water level lowered. He saw Noctis's head bobbing up in the water, carried by Dave.

"When did you get here?!" Dave shouted over the torrent.

Gladiolus grabbed onto him and tried to make his way out, but the influx of water once again made it too difficult.

"You above using a good trick twice?" Gladiolus asked.

"Not if it works," Dave grunted.

For the second time in two days, they allowed themselves to be completely submerged by water and then made their way out through a gap - this time dragging Noctis along with them. A short swim later and they were back on temporarily dry land, alongside Ignis and Prompto.

"You know, I'm just going to say it," Dave groaned. "I don't think I'm gonna like rain much after this."

"You're hilarious," Gladiolus replied, coughing out some water himself. "Iggy, is Noct okay?"

Ignis had been checking on Noctis who appeared to be breathing. "He seems to be okay. Just unconscious."

"Yeah that big guy knocked him out," Dave explained. "Didn't want him using his magic to escape. No handles on the inside of those doors, they just look like rock walls when they're closed. Craziest thing. Anyway, he slammed him up against the wall and Noct went out like a light."

"Well if it makes you feel any better I laid him out just as pretty," Gladiolus said.

"Shoulda killed the bastard. He's an MT," Dave said.

"That's what I said," Gladiolus concurred.

"I suppose all that's left is to do what we originally set out to do. Find the monster that's been summoning the rains and defeat it before the entire area floods," Ignis observed. "Well," he added taking a look around. "Moreso than it already has."

"That's the other thing," Dave announced as if suddenly remembering. "The Sahagin Chieftain is the one calling the rains. He was out here a while ago talking about using the rains for something."

"Something?" Prompto asked. "Any chance you can be more specific."

Dave shook his head. "Well I don't exactly speak Sahagin, kid. But that MT was sure interested in it. I only got the gist of it because the two were conversing. A name came up… Kraken I think he said. Apparently it's been living in the Vesperpool for a real long time and the Sahagin want to wake it up."

"That tentacle thing that attacked us," Gladiolus said.

Dave nodded. "Yeah. Only I reckon it's plenty awake now. Not sure what else is going on. Or why the Empire wants anything to do with it."

Ignis snapped his fingers. "Of course. They've been collecting daemons. You remember the ones they unleashed upon Insomnia. This Kraken must be an especially powerful-"

Ignis trailed off. Something had caught his attention and he became entranced by his own hands for a few moments.

"Iggy?" Gladiolus asked.

"You still with us?" Prompto prompted.

Ignis shook his head and returned to reality. "I'm sorry, I only just realized now. If the Empire is planning on using this daemon they would be waiting for a signal of some kind. They would have sent their scouts in to keep an eye on the situation and when the moment was right they would have airships at the ready to capture the fiend."

"Oh," Prompto exclaimed before turning his head back over to Dave and Gladiolus.

"And we let them live," Gladiolus grumbled.

"Right," Ignis nodded.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Ignis felt compelled to add something in his own defense.

"I suppose if we'd killed them the Empire would simply show up sooner to try and handle matters themselves-"

"Look, can we just cut to the chase and say the Empire is probably on the way and we'd better find this Sahagin Chieftain and stop him before things get any uglier," Dave said, ever the practical hunter.

Ignis sighed. "Right. They've moved out of the Myrlwood and headed back towards the lakeside. I imagine our MT friends have probably joined them by now, except perhaps Alcander."

"If you've been talking as long as it feels like I'm sure he's woke up by now," came the groggy voice of Noctis, slowly lifting himself onto his knees.

Prompto scoffed. "Great. And how long have you been awake."

Noctis stretched his arms out. "Long enough to hear something about us being screwed."

"You'll have to be more specific," Dave replied.

The group made their way down through the Myrlwood path only to find that Noctis's sarcastic statement had come true. Alcander was no longer present. However a long trail from where Gladiolus left him gave the impression that he had not been removed under his own steam.

"You reckon his friends came to bail him out?" Dave asked.

"Must have," Gladiolus nodded. "I guess I'm not as good at knot-tying as I thought."

"Guess you'll need to get some practice out at sea," Prompto teased. "Or get a kinky girlfriend."

"You're the salt of the earth, Prompto," Noctis sighed.

The group continued through the thicket back out to where the battle with Leta and Savio had occurred. Standing amongst the ruins was a veritable horde of Sahagin numbering nearly a hundred by Gladiolus's estimate. In chief position was an especially tall, especially muscular looking specimen, shrieking out to the gathering in its shrill tongue.

Sitting off on the side were Leta and Savio who were tending to their incapacitated leader. Alongside them was another body who appeared to be on her knees. A body cloaked in a green poncho and red sun hat.


	11. Chapter 11

**Spring Rains - Part 11**

"That's Sania!" Prompto announced, in a voice a little too loud for the subterfuge they were attempting which, fortunately, went unnoticed.

"There are other bodies on the far side," Ignis observed.

And there were - a huddled mass of around 24 people all bound with slimy green cords, being held together in an unusually ritualistic position a top a far bit of stonework.

"The Sahagin must have invaded Meldacio while we were in the Myrlwood," Dave said. "But what are they up to?"

"Maybe they're going to feed their pet daemon," Gladiolus said.

Ignis nodded. "That's not too far off the mark I suspect. A ritual sacrifice of sorts."

There was a crashing of waves out in the midst of the Vesperpool, and in the distance a large black tentacle shot forth from the water.

"Whatever they're planning it looks like it's started," Noctis said. "Do we have any chance at taking that thing on?"

"If it were by itself perhaps," Dave said. "Not with 100 Sahagin and the MTs to boot."

The beast swam towards the crowd, throttling through the water and closing in with each passing second.

"I say we rush to get Sania and then try to help the Hunters. If we take them by surprise-" Prompto stopped his thought halfway.

"We'd still be surrounded by fishmen," Gladiolus grunted. "Leave Sania to me, the rest of you do what you can about the Hunters. Prompto, you stay here and give us some cover fire."

"That's as good a plan as we have time to make," Ignis replied. "Let's move!"

It was a fine plan for the circumstances that they were faced with. However it quickly became apparent that things would not work out. Apart from the Sahagin turning towards the group almost the second they began their reckless charge, there was the matter of why they had turned in the first place. The heavy rain and distant rolling thunder masked the sound of an entire fleet of Imperial dropships that now sailed overhead.

Several turret blasts from the vessels tore through the amassed Sahagin and the crowd of Meldacio Hunters alike. For their part, the Hunters had been able to find some cover in the stonework, or else desperately flinging themselves into the water. The Sahagin had not been so lucky, being torn to pieces by the advancing Imperial Army. The Sahagin Chief boldly shot off a blast of thunder from his ceremonial staff which deflected harmlessly off of the lead vessel before he was taken down.

The carnage was a vulgar display of absolute mercilessness. The scant few Sahagin that were still moving were forced to flee into the waters of the Vesperpool, leaving the Imperials with only a few human survivors to passively take potshots at.

With the main force removed however, their focus shifted from the stragglers towards the looming beast ahead. Rupturing the surface of the water with the force of a tidal wave the enormous daemonic entity revealed itself in its fullness. It was less like a squid and more like a blue humanoid body with a fish-like head and fins, its tentacles smacking the water around it to keep it afloat.

It bellowed with a deafening cry that shook the entirety of the Vesperpool and with it came as if on command a crackle of harsh thunder from the black clouds above. The thunder crashed through the lead dropship which sunk down deep into the waters below.

"Impressive isn't it?" Came the voice of Leta as Gladiolus stood looking at the carnage dumbstruck.

Gladiolus turned and raised his sword, but Leta's hands were in his face before he could bring it down on her. It was a sign of submission. Even with everything that had happened Gladiolus wasn't going to strike down an unarmed person.

"The Empire hasn't changed much has it?" Gladiolus grunted.

Leta shrugged. "You should be happy that we're on hand to deal with this fiend for you. You Lucians have had this thing sleeping in your holiday spot for aeons now, and we are the only ones who are doing anything about it."

Another dropship came crashing down, this one a startling few hundred meters from them.

"Well you're doing a great job of it," Gladiolus barked.

Leta's eyes grew wide at the sight of the destroyed airship. In the moments of chaos that followed the group had rejoined Gladiolus and for their part Savio and a freshly awoken Alcander had managed to stumble over, carrying along a bound Sania.

"We were planning to hold this one hostage but it seems a bit of a moot point now," Savio said, cutting her bonds.

Sania rubbed her wrists and the nine present continued to watch the devastation of the Imperial fleet. A single crimson airship turned on the spot and fled the scene as the Kraken continued to tear through the fleet.

"At least Lady Aranea has some sense," Alcander grunted.

The last of the Imperial forces destroyed, the Kraken turned its attention to the only thing that remained - the humans on the shoreline.

"So. It's come down to this eh?" Dave sighed.

"We don't have any hope of defeating that thing. Let's just get out of here while we can," Savio suggested.

Ignis folded his arms. "You are poor imitations of Hunters, even if you are MTs."

Gladiolus punched his palm. "We've faced worse odds, right Noct?"

Noct shook his head. "I wouldn't go that far."

"You all can't seriously be planning on fighting this thing," Alcander said. "It tore through an entire fleet like paper."

"We're smaller targets," Prompto offered. He then noted Alcander's massive bulk. "Some more than others, of course."

"I'm not much of a fighter, but I can coordinate," Sania said. "Count me in as well."

Ignis turned to the three Imperials.

"I don't suppose we could ask you to help us deal with this foe?" Ignis asked.

Alcander scoffed at first, but it slowly turned into something closer to a sigh. He rubbed the back of his head. "You Lucians are a tougher lot than I pegged you for. And infinitely more suicidal."

Prompto sighed. "I never even got to use this thing," before tossing Leta's rifle back to her. Savio picked up the Sahagin Chieftain's staff and Alcander cracked his knuckles.

"Alright," Gladiolus said. "I'm saying this right now. We get to kill this one."

"Fair enough," Ignis nodded.

And with a charge born of desperation the nine rushed down towards the edge of the water to face the Kraken.


	12. Chapter 12

**Spring Rains - Part 12**

The beast lurched towards them swiping at the small group with its tentacles. But, as Prompto observed, they were a smaller target and had the benefit of the cover of ruins. One of the stone pillars crumbled into the surrounding water as the group ran out of dry land. They stood knee-deep (for Alcander and Gladiolus it was more like ankle-deep) in water and began to spread out.

"Prompto and Leta get to a pillar and attack from afar," Sania said. "Ignis, you stay with me and use your magic."

Prompto, Leta and Ignis nodded. Ignis took over from here.

"Savio, get as close as you can and use any spells at your disposal. Alcander, Noctis, Dave and Gladiolus will take the frontal assault. There's no dry land so you'll have to use the beast's body as footing. I trust that won't be a problem," Ignis said.

"He's the size of a small mountain, I think we'll manage," Gladiolus replied. "You three stick close to me, I'll head in first."

The Kraken made another swipe sending another bit of stonework tumbling. The group broke into their assigned roles. Prompto and Leta drew the beast close with sniper fire which allowed Ignis and Savio to send bolts of thunder at its gut. The first to actually land on the beast was Noctis who was able to warp strike straight to the Kraken's neck. Gladiolus, Dave and Alcander had a trickier time of it, relying on a temporarily stunned tentacle to run across. The slippery surface was hard to get a footing on, but they managed in spite of everything. But arriving at the torso of the behemoth was only the first part of this endeavor.

The Kraken soon realized it had pests atop it and began thrashing about violently. Dave almost immediately lost his grip but was able to stick a dagger to flesh as he fell stopping just short of the water. Alcander, honed from the years of Imperial training, was not even phased and began to scale the beast as though it were a particularly fleshy ladder. Not to be outdone, Gladiolus kept pace with him.

Through the rain drops above, Gladiolus could see Noctis bouncing through the air as he set sword to fang with the enormous foe. Clearly not wanting to wait for the others, Noctis had conjured the Armiger - the phantasmal collection of ancient weapons that every king in the line of Lucis held - and was using each in turn by some unconscious will. It was as though the souls of the departed kings were fighting alongside him, unseen by any except, perhaps, Noctis himself.

They reached the monsters shoulders. Dave was still climbing up the midsection trying to dodge the lightning bolts being lobbed skyward by Savio and Ignis.

"I'll take the left one," Alcander said. "You get the right."

Gladiolus saw no real reason to protest, and so didn't. He ran across to the other side of the beast's mantle and dug his greatsword into its shoulder. He was just wondering what Alcander planned to do as the Kraken lurched forward in pain from his strike. Alcander had, true to form, chosen to simply rely on his bare fists, sending a shattering punch to Kraken's neck.

A great blue hand attempted to pick him up, but this was clearly what Alcander had been planning for. He leapt atop the creature's palm willingly submitting to its grasp. Gladiolus took another swipe at the shoulder in an attempt to convince the creature to loose its grip, but to no avail.

Dave finally caught up with the two. "Is he suicidal?!"

Gladiolus looked up the beast's neck. His head, and Noctis, were only a few meters above. The Kraken had apparently decided that there was no more time to waste and its mouth began to glow a deep crimson. It was charging a spell of some kind.

"Hey Prince!" Alcander shouted. "Clear a path!"

Gladiolus turned back to the beasts hand which was now in front of the monster's mouth. Noctis seemed to sense what he was on about and dropped down to the surface of the water. Gladiolus and Dave decided now would be a good time to follow suit and slid down the creature's stomach. Gladiolus looked up to Alcander who freed his arm and threw something small, metallic and orb-shaped into the creature's mouth. The light pink field exploded within the creature's head and there was a deafening roar from the monstrosity. The crimson hue disappeared and in agony the Kraken threw Alcander with great force towards the dry land.

There was no spin, no sudden movement. Noctis was too far to intercept him. Nobody would be there to catch him. Alcander hit the ground hard and even hundreds of meters away though they were, surrounded by a raging storm and a bellowing monster, Gladiolus could almost hear the crunch his body made as his bones shattered, the squelch of his organs perforating inside him. Whatever else would happen there was nothing to be argued - Alcander was dead.

Noctis rushed back up to the creatures head and, with the beast distracted and silenced by the Anti-Magic barrier, carved through one of his massive eyes with his own blade. This was true to Noctis - always one eager to snag the killing blow for himself. The Kraken lurched forward in a sickening display of flesh in freefall. It smacked against the waters of the Vesperpool before disappearing in a tidal wave of dark energy- the telltale sign of a felled daemon.

Noctis's energy was well beyond spent and he slowly descended towards the others who had each in turn made their way back to the dry land. A few meters from the ground he gave up or strength left him and he fell, Gladiolus catching his body as he fell fast asleep.

There was no cheering, apart from Prompto who tried once feebly to get the group excited at their triumph before sheepishly turning towards the broken body of Alcander. The clouds began to part just in time for the light of the setting sun to cast a pale scarlet light across his eyes. With the disappearance of the Kraken the water began to sink rapidly, the massive figure no longer raising the level and the rest almost through some bittersweet enchantment draining into an unseen void. The highlands were visible once more and within the hour even the lowest of the lowlands were basking in the sun once more.

The eight traveled in silence as Gladiolus carried Alcander's body back towards Meldacio. They caught up with a few survivors on their way into the tunnel who began to applaud before seeing the fallen soldier on Gladiolus's back.

A lengthy procession led the group back through the darkened tunnel, and even in the black of night, no daemons felt compelled to appear. Gladiolus carried his body through to the other side. That was what he had always done. He may not get the killing blow. He may not get the glory. He may have no title or crown. But his lot was that of a shield. He protected those who needed protecting, lifted those who could not lift themselves, and when needed carried on.

Gladiolus carried on.


	13. Chapter 13

**Spring Rains - Part 13**

Gladiolus awoke the next morning to see Sania waiting by his bed once more. The sorrowful expression and the unusually nervous bearing was more than enough to convince him that he'd not simply dreamt the events of the previous day.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

Gladiolus sat up and chewed on the question for a moment. He then simply shrugged. "I don't know how to feel."

"There's a good deal of wisdom in that sentiment," Sania replied. "Shows you're thinking."

"I wish I could stop thinking," Gladiolus replied. "He was an enemy not even two hours before he died. I was regretting the fact that I didn't kill him right up until he died."

"That mercy saved your friends at least and very likely a lot more. It gave Alcander a chance to redeem himself," Sania explained.

Gladiolus punched the side of the caravan. "I know! And I know it's selfish but I almost wish that he hadn't. I don't know if he was acting out of selflessness or just trying to kill the creature out of self-preservation, but history won't remember that. He'll be the martyr. And I can't explain how but that knowledge fills me with a sense of pointlessness. Like what I fought for up to that point was just washed away."

He stood up and paced for a moment. Sania knew better than to interrupt the train of his thought. Gladiolus took some time to reach the end of his ideas, but he always got there in the end.

"I can see why it is so easy to hate people," he said bitterly. "Hate is simple. Hate doesn't require thought. You can just point to somebody and say 'there's the enemy' and whatever else they do can be ignored because they're evil by virtue of not being you. But when you have to reconcile that idea with something they do that is incontestably good and virtuous and self-sacrificing you can't hate without admitting that your morals aren't the basis for your actions. And it sickens me to know that now. That whatever else happened between us when it mattered most he did the right thing," Gladiolus flopped down on the bed exhausted from epiphany.

A few moments passed in silence before Gladiolus sat back up and rubbed his face.

"I'm not making any sense am I?"

Sania shook her head. "There's a lot to make sense of, Gladiolus. Death has this effect on people. Don't dwell on it. Let the emotions work themselves out."

Gladiolus nodded. He made to leave but then turned to her, his hand slipping on the rusty paneling , his foot halfway between steps. He began to speak, but then stopped abruptly. Sania simply smiled.

"One thing at a time, Gladiolus."

And that was enough. At least for now. Gladiolus nodded and left the caravan.

"Morning, Gladdy," Prompto said, waving him and Sania over to the picnic table. Noctis, Ignis and Dave sat with a hint of tension next to Leta and Savio.

"How many?" Gladiolus asked.

Ignis straightened his glasses. "So far we've only confirmed three deaths. Another seven remain unaccounted for, but patrols are scouring the lowlands as we speak."

"The Sahagin tribe was eviscerated," Dave said. "Only a handful of stragglers were found but they didn't put up a fight and were making their way south. Didn't seem right to kill them so we let them go with a warning."

"Yes, Dave here has been up all night running patrols," Ignis added.

"Still running high on the adrenaline," Dave nodded. "Gonna crash soon enough."

"No signs of the beast stirring either," Leta said. "It seems Alcander and Noctis truly did finish the beast off."

There was a brief silence. The kind that made Gladiolus's head fill with all those conflicting emotions that were battling it out in his head. He couldn't stand the internal jabbering and so voiced what seemed appropriate to say.

"I'm sorry about your loss," Gladiolus said. And by saying that sentence the words suddenly seemed to form a straight line from his mind to his lips. "I mean obviously we were at each other's throats. But after what he did for all of us in the end- well I guess you could say the slate is clean. If it were me, I think that'd be how I'd want to go out."

Savio nodded grimly. "It was a warrior's death."

Leta concurred wordlessly.

"So, what will you do now?" Noctis asked. "Back to the Empire?"

Leta shrugged. "We're still Imperial soldiers. We'll hail a dropship out in the wilds somewhere."

"You realize we might meet again as enemies," Ignis explained.

Savio folded his arms. "Technically we are enemies _still_. What we did last night was more or less a tactical truce."

"After what happened you don't question the Empire's aims at all?" Noctis asked. "They sacrificed-"

"What they lost were a handful of automated dropships and mechanized troops," Leta replied. "An acceptable loss."

"And if they had captured the beast?" Ignis asked.

"Then a daemon would be under the control of the Empire which seems far safer to me than letting it roam free," Savio explained. "Even if we may not agree with its use in war it is not for us to decide."

"So that's all you are then? Soldiers?" Gladiolus challenged.

"We're all bound to our duty, Gladiolus," Leta explained. "Us to our Emperor, you to your king."

There was another uncomfortable silence. They weren't exactly wrong about that and it continued to blur the lines in Gladiolus's mind.

"Gladio is my friend first, and my bodyguard second," Noctis said, in a rare moment where the floppy-haired teenager was silent behind the mantle of the king he would become.

"That may be, but I am certain he does not think so," Savio said. With a softer tone, albeit one that sounded a touch matter-of-fact, he added. "That is to his credit, mind you. He would make a poor bodyguard if his first and foremost thought wasn't your protection."

But is that all he was? A shield? Bound only to duty? Sometimes he felt more like a rod being used the beat the spoiled child into a man. Noctis needed all the help he could get. And of course he was a friend - a brother even. But when the time came Gladiolus would have to die for Noctis. And where did that leave their friendship? Could a tool choose not to be a tool?

"When Alcander died protecting all of us, I don't think his thoughts were on his duty to the Emperor," Gladiolus said. "It was on his duty to you two."

Leta's stony expression cracked into a small smile. "That's a bit of a romantic idea. One that I'm sure Alcander would have brushed off."

"He always wanted to be a bloody hero," Savio grinned. "I think that was really what this was all about."

The two shared a private laugh, but neither denied the suggestion. They finished their meal and then borrowed a couple of chocobos to head out in the Cleigne wilds, Alcander's wrapped body strapped on a third. It was a bit graceless perhaps, but nobody seemed to mind it.

"Think they'll change their mind and come running back?" Sania asked.

"No," Ignis replied. "They have their course as we have ours."

"So, Professor, do you have any grand scientific discovery to share with us from this venture?" Prompto asked.

Sania rubbed the back of her neck. "Well my hair won't be properly dry for days, my whole body aches, and I really can't wait for Summer. As far as science goes I think I'm done with impromptu excursions. I'll leave saving the world to you boys. Anyway, I'd better get going. I'm sure Wiz has been missing his truck. It's been fun."

And with that Sania planted a kiss on Gladiolus's cheek and walked away towards Wiz's truck. Dave shot Gladiolus a teasing grin before following her. The two drove off to return the truck to its rightful owner, leaving Ignis, Noctis and Prompto to harass Gladiolus.

"That was sweet of her," Ignis said simply.

"You should have asked for her number champ," Noctis added.

"Sensei noticed you," Prompto smirked.

Gladiolus retorted with some dismissive comment that he wasn't even fully aware of. His life was his own. Choosing to live by his duty was still a choice, after all. But he wasn't some stone-faced knight or some mindless tool. He was both the Shield of the King and Gladio, the (for the next two weeks at least) courter of older women. He was both the Crownsguard and the Brother. In the end, that was enough. Because even if the moment come where he had to die for somebody, he would gladly lay down his life for any of these three.

And he could live with that.


	14. Summer Abroad Teaser

The following is a teaser for the next story Summer Abroad. The first chapter is up on my profile now!

* * *

CLICK!

The whirring of Prompto's camera woke Ignis from his slumber. He rolled over on his bed to see the young man scoping out the seaside, eagerly capturing every inch he could in the device. The warm salty air permeated every inch of the room, a gentle breeze capturing the drapes and setting them about in a hypnotizing dance that lulled Ignis back to sleep.

Prompto had been up for a while now. He still didn't quite have the right one yet. He scanned through his photos trying to find out exactly what was missing from all of these pictures. There was no pop to them, nothing that made them unique. A million other photos existed of every shot he'd taken himself. No matter what filter or lens he used he wasn't able to create something unique out of the tapestry of nature afforded to him. At least not at this very moment.

He sighed and set the camera down on the hotel desk, leaning back in the chair and trying to think. The only other person up at this hour was Gladiolus but he was out doing his morning training on the shore. Ignis wouldn't be properly up for another half hour or so and Noctis would definitely be longer still. They'd been in Galdin Quay for the past two nights now staying at the lavish, and quite expensive hotel as a sort of treat. They were flush with gil after a series of difficult hunts and had decided to treat themselves – despite Gladiolus mentioning how much Cup Noodle they could have purchased with the money.

They had one more night here and then would be heading down the coast towards Cape Caem and eventually, and finally, on to Altissia. After months of traversing around the continent they were finally able to move towards what had been at their goal at their initial outset. They were only able to finally able to formulate a plan with Cid to repair an old boat of his to bypass the travel restrictions and even then the timing had to be just so. It made sense to take these last few days to rest and relax in preparation for what would probably end up going poorly – if their previous adventures were any indication.

Prompto sighed and decided that dwelling on their problems would only exacerbate them. He grabbed his camera and made his way out to the restaurant. This early in the morning there wasn't much activity, just a few old timers enjoying an early cup of coffee on the docks and a group of chatty early birds sitting in a far corner.

"You got a Sunrise Special ready?" Prompto asked the cute server.

"I can have it ready in just a moment," she nodded with a smile.

Prompto handed over some gil and she set to work, first handing him a glass of orange juice. There was some movement behind him and Prompto turned, expecting Gladiolus but finding a tall stocky man with a flashy fauhawk.

"Hey Dino," Prompto said, greeting their perennial acquaintance. The freelance goldsmith looked to be in good health and even better spirits, but then he always wore a conspiratorial smirk of self-assurance.

"You enjoying the early morning too, eh?" Dino asked.

"I will as soon as I get some bacon and eggs in me," Prompto replied. "How goes the shiny things?"

"Shiny things always sell well," Dino laughed. He rapped on the counter and the server turned, though her smile seemed a bit more forced upon seeing him. "I'll have what he's having."

"You got it," the server replied curtly.

"She still won't go out with me," Dino whispered. He then gestured to one of the waiters who was pouring coffee for chatty table. "Neither will he."

"Hard luck, huh?" Prompto asked, taking a sip of his juice.

"Well, I'm thinking about moving on to greener pastures. Maybe try to find some way out to Lestallum. Could use a little more spice in my life," Dino sighed leaning back in his chair. "But what would I do without this place?"

"Maybe annoy less of the patrons," Prompto replied.

"You're cute," Dino said, patting him on the back.

* * *

Read more in _Summer Abroad._


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